grifone37

Dear assembled bicycle intelligentsia,

I acquired a Peugeot UO8 from a friend and have cleaned it up to sell. Before I post it anywhere, however, I would like to know the year (because somebody is going to ask).

I have tentatively dated it to 1973-1977(?). Can anyone provide a more accurate date or more information?

Serial number is Y806 25648.

TIA

Bob

randyjawa 

My guess is that the bike is newer than 1977. Check out the Trek website, and study this page, then apply what you learn. You should come pretty close to identifying vintage.

Hope this is a help.

auchencrow

The bike license convinced me that it is probably a '74 or older. +1 to checking the Trek site for component dates.

grifone37

Because I will soon be putting the bike up for sale, and will post a full description in the For Sale forum, I didn't want to give too much detail here (and be accused of "selling" the bike in the wrong forum).

At any rate, dating the components is a huge mess because the entire bike is a custom build. SR crank, SR pedals, Campy hubs, Weinmann rims, Suntour Cyclone ders, Campy shifters, Brooks Pro saddle, Matthauser brake shoes. All of the components look to be from the early to mid-70's, but only the brakes and headset appear original to the frame.

That downtube decal is from 1975(?) to 1977, I think. The 1974 and earlier DT decal was different, based on what I found on the web.

B

bigbossman 

Might want to replace that Campagnolo skewer with something more generic before you do.....

markk900

I agree with OP - probably 75 or newer based on decals (and brakes, but they could have been changed), but the licence seems to narrow it to 1975.

Mark

auchencrow

Look at the bike. - 1977 is VERY improbable.

SteveSGP

I'd put it at a 1975 then since the '74 decals were the older style and I believe the ones on yours ran through 1979 if I recall correctly.

grifone37

Why's that? The hubs are Campy, so the skewers should stay with them?

miamijim

I dont care what the bike license says..... Y806 = June 1978

grifone37

Don't you just love these mysteries?

Do they always involve a Peugeot, or is it just French bikes in general?

B

Road Fan

I'm not sure it is a help. The license had to have been put on not before it was bought, so it could not be later than 1975. I don't thinkg most of those parts were on Peugs of that era. So dating the parts will date the parts, not the bike. It adds another constraint: The bike is probably not newer than the parts are.

Besides, the OP says it was a custom build - parts are DEFINITELY not original.

Road Fan

So he can sell the Campy to one of us! Of course!

Road Fan

Not to snark us all out, but didn't your Peug page say it is not possible to use S/Ns to id frame year before 1979?

bigbossman 

Huh - Campagnolo hubs on a UO8. They're worth 3 times what the bike is worth. Find a donor set of wheels cheap, and sell them with the bike. Pull wheels and sell them separately, you'll make more money that way.

If those are Campagnolo shift levers, the same advice applies.

Also, those Mathauer finned brake pads are worth a few bucks. Replace them with generic blocks, and sell the finned blocks on eBay. you'll be surprised what they bring.

Looking the bike over, this might be a good one to strip and part out.

miamijim

I'm going to rivise to that to say, "prior to the new serial number format". Previous thought was that the new format didnt appear until 1979 but I've seen a few bike from '78-ish with that foramt.

Q. If the Texas license wasn't on the bike what year would you say it is? Keep in mind that my Colnaago has a '1972' decal on it......

auchencrow

Jim -
I would have guess 77-78 based on the DT decal, with letters as tall as the flanking stripes - Type IV , I think.

- But I just can't imagine someone PAYING for a bike license that's ALREADY long expired, and sticking it on their bike. Granted - it's possible - but isn't it also possible that Peugeot had partially implemented the new S/N blocks earlier?

- And even when it comes to catalogs, I never trust them implicitly, because I've heard of other cases where catalog makers were re-using old file-photos.

miamijim

Anythings possible but nothing, aside from the license, indicates the bike is of '74/'75 vintage.

markk900

Regarding the licence - given its position with the date UNDERNEATH the down tube, it is also possible that someone who was perhaps more frugal than most used an old sticker positioned so that no one would ever bother to actually check the date, and was able to ride around Houston without fear of getting a ticket......so back to Jim's statement if it wasn't for the sticker it would definitely look to be a later bike.

Road Fan

Ok, the seat tube has the side decals, which your catalog scans have as starting '77 or so. So despite the braze-ons seeming to match my two smaller frames which both have the '70 to '75 patterns, I'd say its '77 or later - no I don't get the Houston sticker, either. Maybe that's just what the bike shop had in the drawer. That makes me rethink (since the cats show a lot of Japanese content starting mid-70s) whether the parts are stock or not, though a 1977 frame could have been re-equipped many times in the past 30+ years.